Alice in Chains pleased with 'ugly' Golden God

Alice In Chains were pleased with their ''ugly'' Icon award at last night's Metal Hammer Golden Gods, despite saying it was only another name for 'old'.

Alice In Chains were pleased with their ''ugly'' Icon award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods.

The grunge band were ecstatic to win the title at the award ceremony in London last night (17.06.13) shouting ''we're f***ing Icons!'' as they reached the stage, although they quipped 'Icon' was ''just a fancy word for old.''

Speaking after receiving his trophy, Bassist Mike Inez said: ''This is a great thing. It's a gathering of the tribes, so give yourselves a god damn hand because we're together man, we're here together.

On a slightly more humble note, the band thanked their fans, saying: ''Thank you for acknowledging the band's history and what we're doing now, it really means the world to us.

''Without you we're nothing and that's the truth. Its cliché, but it's the truth. We look forward to coming back again.''

The band were presented the trophy by former Metallica bassist and old friend, Jason Newsted. He introduced the group as the most dominant grunge band from the 90s who continue to set the standard in grunge music.

He said: ''I have great respect for what they've done and as they've pioneered and fought through all the challenges that have been presented to them. Many things that this band faced would leave other bands in a puddle on the floor.''

Jason then paid tribute to the band's late singer, Layne Staley, who died in 2002 after a long struggle with a heroin addiction.

He added: ''They lost a very important member of their band halfway through their scene and now they have a new voice taking that place that's just as respectable. They're back and strong and firing on all pistons again.''

The band's former bassist Mike Starr, who was replaced by Mike Inez in 1993, also died of a drug overdose in 2011.